Anyway You Slice It

New Park Pizza
156-71 Cross Bay Boulevard
Howard Beach

10 (cheese) + 10 (sauce) + 9 (crust) = 9.7

New Park is arguably the best slice in the city, as it’s both incredibly unique and just damn tasty. It’s been family-owned for generations and is the perfect hybrid: the pies are made in a brick fire oven, but there’s also a conventional pizza oven to create a perfect amount of char with a salty taste. The only drawback, some could argue, is that the crust can sometimes be a bit chewy, so if you’re a pizza folder who likes a crust that cracks, it won’t be the case here. The cheese, on the other hand, is exceptional and what makes this place stand out. It’s thick and salty, concentrating itself in globs instead of a thin film across the sauce like a lot of other slice joints. The sauce is a good balance of lightly sweet and not overly seasoned.